Your Happy Hour - Trust That Feeling

Episode Date: April 24, 2026

In this episode, we chat with Rudi Wild - Adventurer and Cinematographer - who turned his passion for nature and filmmaking into a fulfilling career that spans over 20 countries. Rudi shared his experience with the transformative power of following what makes him shiver, the importance of knowing and standing for worth in balancing passion with financial sustainability, there is a world in which fair remuneration for creatives exists and that living in the moment requires embracing deliberate focus - in going from passion to purpose.The Feels is all about having those honest conversations, the power of community for personal growth and taking those actionable steps towards being our authentic selves.Thanks for tuning in! Keep it raw and real out there xYHH is produced byswartkat.co - captured viariverside.fm & shared via rss.com.

It's the Friday feels and we're back with your first sip of the weekend. You're now tuned in to this week's episode of your happy hour. I'm your host Nicole Carmine and it's amazing to have you here. Joining me this week as we uncover the truths about being a human and a working professional. What are you up to this Friday? Well, whatever it is, this moment is just for you. And we're back in the field space with another episode on the Your Happy Hour series, and we're still talking about the theme, Follow Your Joy.

Now, today I have a really special guest on here that I've been very excited to chat to, and I'm very happy to have been introduced to this guest via another guest that came on in season two, Alex, who we've also built something amazing with in the world. And he just said, I have to chat to you on this topic, Rudy, about following your joy as that's what you're doing in the world. A really big welcome to you to the field space, the feels podcast. And I'm really excited to unpack more of how you are flitting around the world, just doing the most amazing adventures.

And you can tell us a little bit more about that. Thank you, Nicole. Thank you for having me on. It's a pleasure to be on the show and I'm looking forward to this conversation. Oh, thanks. And tell me a little bit about what you do today. I know for audience listening, you are a cinematographer, you're an adventurer at heart. And, you know, your name is really wild, but I feel like that's like telling, you know, of who you needed to be in the world. So tell me a little bit about how you got to be in this field today. Sure. I've ended up distilling after a lot of workshopping what actually it is that I do. And I've come down to after filming in over 20 countries on six different continents,

to the motto that I help nature-focused businesses and brands grow through, social media and through video marketing. That includes funder and investor pitch films, as well as brand awareness, as well as, yeah, all kind of stakeholder engagement through film and through storytelling that I feel is all encompassed within the proximity of nature. And so that's what I strive to do. That's my passion at heart. as you've said, I love to be in the wild, surrounded by nature, and I think I love to think that my body of work encompasses that passion. No, I love that.

I love that. And I've seen some of your work, of course, and I'm going to do a little shout out to why that is the case a little later. But how did you get into knowing that this was like what you wanted to do, like? Was this your heart's calling from a young age? It's so, I think it's so interesting. I've always been, I think, a man of passion, generally speaking. I used to be fascinated by music and piano.

My journey into film was quite an interesting one, I guess, unconventional, and I suppose in many creative fields that is the case. But I actually started as a mechanical engineer. I was studying as a mechanical engineer, and I found film through my studies, and I got invited on this incredible project that took me around all of South Africa's national parks. For that project, I quit university, actually,

and left my studies, and for eight months, I would wake up at sunrise and film and photograph like the most incredible natural landscapes of South Africa. And right there and then I kind of knew that that was my calling. It was, it turned out to be the first salary as well that I made in my life and it felt so purposeful. And from then on, it's a long winded story. It took me a long time to, I actually started working as a mechanical engineer.

I had to repay a bursary that helped me study. And I always had it as my North Star. I was going to become a filmmaker. I guess the finances would have held back. So for two and a half years, I would take leave from my engineering work and work on productions until I was safe enough and I knew that I had enough of a client base

through quite a bit of analytics, actually. It was a very conscientious move that led me into going full-time and paying my bussary back and becoming a full-time filmmaker. So it was a long-winded journey, but one that I knew for sure was going to be the path. And I remember actually before even working on this job that took me around South Africa, I remember this one sunrise on the beach photographing. I was obsessed with photographing sunrises and sunsets. And this one moment I had, I took a photograph on a beach

and I remember like literally looking up and saying, thank you and kissing my camera. And I got this incredible shiver through my body. And I kind of like knew at that moment. And it was way early on that it was maybe 12 years ago or so. and so follow your joy i guess that's that's the that's the name of this episode and i think that's really what i strived to do i followed that feeling and that feeling led me to travel the world and have a fun time doing so and a purposeful career and i think that's what i am to do that's

amazing i feel like i'm like feeling the shivers you know the feeling as you're explaining that because I think I felt that moment at times in my life. And when you go for that, then you're right, like it opens up all these doors and opportunities. And often that is where the abundance also is. Because I think that's kind of what people really struggle with these days, is that there's this perception that if you follow your joy, it won't lead to abundance.

It won't lead to a life of, let's say it, financial abundance, the way the world's structured right now and the way society is. But that's not been the case for you. And like, you seem to have instructed in that way, or did the opportunities kind of open up as you were following the joy? It's an interesting thing. I think at first I was very free about it and very reliant on word of mouth and very flexible with my rates as a filmmaker.

I would take it really as a craft of passion. And I think that's useful in any creative endeavor. You're always trying to build up experience and portfolio and reputation and etc. And I think I've, I have taken like a solid tangent in the last like three or four years. After 10 years of doing this job, at the end of it, it still needs to be a job and it needs to provide for one's means or for one's. or for one's needs, sorry. So I think I've reshaped my career to still be what I wanted to be, but to also allow myself to do well financially through it.

And with that comes like adding value to society, I think, and partaking in projects that add like material value into the world. than being able to in return kind of ask for money for it, you know? You know, I have filmed like music video for starving artists, but then I'm also a starving filmmaker in that process, you know? And so it's, so I think I've built myself to accept jobs that are lucrative as much as they are aligned with my passion. And I think, I think that that's like a really interesting balance to reach, and I have been asked this in the past, by fellow filmmakers and aspiring creatives.

And I think it's a very interesting balance to strike, to value yourself that you can still call it a career instead of just a passion. The goal for me is not to be a starving artist, but to be a striving filmmaker that makes a good living and that contributes to the world. So I think to respond to your question, it all started with a volatile dream that has evolved into being a full, like actual, you know, founder-led business that I, that I'm now happy to represent. Yeah. I love that. I think one should follow the dreams, you know, like the nudges, which is exactly what we're talking about.

And I think often also, I know for me and my journey, like following my joy hasn't necessarily, you start off by kind of feeling like it's like moonshine and roses, it's a bit like romance, you know, and then you realize there's a relationship or there's like actually the accountability or the hard worker goes into it to actually follow your dream and make it work, you know. So it's not about just the following. It's exactly like you were saying, like doing the hard work, valuing yourself is sometimes the hardest work we can do. as humans because we especially in the arts it's such a difficult thing and i feel like that's changing in the world is that's what you're seeing in the industry for you or are people still kind of just remaining starving artists i think i come across a lot of extremely talented people that are

starving artists and i've i mean i'm not i'm not at the top of the game here and i'm not like you I'm not wealthy by any means, but I feel like I'm comfortable and I have met a lot of people that are very talented, perhaps more than I am, but they charge nothing for their work. And I think I've kind of like coached them into being able to say no, I think, to something that's not well paid enough or that, you know, that won't bring them what they need. it's quite obvious that brands that use us as creatives often derive a profit from it and I think that it's not fair for creatives not to be remunerated according to the profit that you know that the that the that the party that recruits us is making so I think I

think it's you know from a business standpoint it's you're not going to ask an architect to design a beautiful house for free. And I think that as a brand, like a brand shouldn't be entitled to ask a creative to make a project for them for free. I make exceptions in what I'm saying. I am very open to like supporting, developing NGOs often and, you know, these kinds of projects that really need that push.

And when I, and I feel like it's such a privilege to, hold a profession that allows me to contribute to their wills. But that's from a passion standpoint. And so I don't consider that to be business. And so I know that when I do take on projects that aren't as well paid, it's only because I'm personally passionate by it. And I want to contribute to that world. And I'll be it for free or, you know, for reduced rates, that's okay.

But I think when it comes to business and actually sustaining a life made out of a, you know, a quote-unquote creative endeavor, it's very important to stand your ground and to know, yeah, know what you're worth. Yeah, 100%. And I think it's also you're touching on the topic of like energy balancing, you know, something that we have to learn as humans is, yeah, sometimes they're things that fill your cup not necessarily financially but in a different way. and that brings you joy and then you get to have the energy to do the other things that might bring in the money, you know. It's all part of a joy, but some things are just different kind of resource management in your own life and your own capacity. So have you had moments where you felt like you were doing things and they weren't really following your joy or not aligned? And what did that look like? Yeah, I think for sure.

So I think especially starting off, you do kind of whatever comes your way. And I think it's that kind of lack of decision making within a creative path that is, I'll say, absolutely necessary because sometimes it's through doing that that you might connect to someone that might bring you to your joy later, you know? And so it's like it's very important to connect and to follow that flow and to know like where you're going, what you're doing. But I think the, it's kind of a double-edged sword where you also don't want to get accustomed to saying things that are off path for you because you're getting distracted.

You're obviously on every project you're investing a lot of like time and energy. and you're trying to do it well. And so there's a fine balance to strike where on the one end you're obviously just working and networking and doing things and learning a lot actually by doing that. But on the other end, it's important to also stay on your path and to know that that tangent is actually just bringing you back.

So, yeah, I think for sure there's been so. many times in my life where I would walk off a shoot and I'm like well that didn't you know that that wasn't exactly aligned with who I am and what I want to be doing but I think feeling the general flow of what the universe provide you know as much cliche as that may be like finding the light in the eyes of the people that you talk to and I think that that kind of like groups into meeting the right people and sending out the right energy to get the work and the the profiles that you seek. Yeah.

Yeah, I think I love that you were talking about finding the light in people's eyes because that's really, it's like the things that light people up when you're in your element is kind of a beautiful mirror as well for you in that moment, I think. And so you're very much in the wild, which doesn't always just mean wildlife that I know. But like what has been, I'm sure you've seen some crazy things. you've been traveling recently and you've been in the most amazing places like what's been like your favorite memory that stood out from all go adventuring that's a really hard question um i love i think every assignment that brings me to new places from a recent two-month

trip in antarctica you know like discovering the white deserts of antarctica to assignments in Indonesia and in the remote forests of the Congo and the Central African Republic to the deserts of Chad in northern Africa to many many a project within the South African you know within South Africa as well from the West Coast to the East Coast like I just love to immerse myself in these like environments I'm I'm so like too too like two every time I see how much the earth has to offer, you know, it's crazy the amount of biodiversity and diversity of landscape and people and cultures. Like to me it's just a true pleasure every time I get invited to be a part of these stories.

I think the story is also such an important part of the job. I mean, I'm obviously a documentary filmmaker, so I seek them. But even taking the job away, it's so interesting to meet the protagonists that I often get to film, you know, and to truly sit and hear their story and know what their world is about. And I think it's such an eye-opening thing to sit down with someone, as we are doing actually now on this podcast. You know, it's often that I get the chance to sit down in front of someone that owns their field and to ask them, you know, like, about the biology, about the conservation, about the characteristic of their environment. And I feel like I learn so much and I'm always baffled to see how much good is in this world and how much humans are trying to preserve it and how much the leaders of their field are doing

to protect the world or promote it. So I think, yeah, from landscapes to wildlife to human connection, I've been in many countries but I cherish them all. Yeah, yeah, I know that's a hard question. You can't really pick one, but yeah. It's like when people ask me what's your favorite movie or favorite band, you know, but it's really, the world is such a beautiful space and place that we're in. And I do think it's beautiful that you get to experience the wilds through human experiences,

you know, that's like, often I think when people think of wild, wild life storytelling it's like oh there goes the pretty fish you know or whatever it is but it's not that it's like we were talking about this the one day we met up here in Paris like what is humans in the wild what is being wild as a human look like to you know and so that's something that we're obviously exploring a little bit offline and I want to take this little moment to us to give a quick plug to a segment we always do which is the people places and spaces PPS moments which is a person organization or anything like that that has the fields. And I really would be remiss to not mention BeWild Org in this conversation

because I feel like that's been such a beautiful connector of us through Alex and what BeWild is doing in the world is amazing. And I'm going to definitely link your documentary that you did with them as well so that people can go watch. And that was such a special experience for you. and for us to experience, and especially for me in French. It was great to learn, see both in both languages. But thank you to them.

We love your feels, guys. And, yeah, for everyone listening out there, I wonder what you're feeling about being wildly human, following your joy and following those nudges. Like, what are those moments that make you shiver, you know, that make you feel like you are so blessed to be alive and enjoy life? And then I want to take a quick moment to do exactly that. we do have a segment called The Gems.

And so it's like something that you've experienced in the last week or you've learned or have gratitude for. So for me it was that actually very randomly, I got a phone call for my mom saying, yeah, so your cousin said that he heard you on the radio in South Africa and I was like, what are you talking about? She was like, no, no, they were listening to you, interviewing this person on travel.

and we just thought that maybe they had Spotify on in the car and they didn't realize but actually the fields is now live on radio in South Africa which is amazing and it was such a beautiful surprise so that's really been a gem for me to just yeah have found out in that way and it's it's great to have this out into the world a bit more so yeah what's it been for you that's beautiful so I feel like many things it's beautiful to and I always say you can never see the line before you plot down all the dots you know and so I think it's with retrospect that you always see what got you here but I think all in all I've I've realized lately actually what we were talking about earlier about like finances and

about like creating a sustainable business out of a creative endeavor or out of anything actually one should always like you know act like if you if you are going to be an entrepreneur you should like acts like it you know and I and I feel like I've really I've made a lot of progress in different spheres of that whether it's you know like it it becomes quite like you know like financial and business to talk about it, but it's like lead generation and like proposal and like, you know, like actually creating a structure that can hold on its legs because I find that

the more I do that and the more I can be like comfortable actually leading a business, the more I can say yes to the things that I truly want to do, you know. And instead of running after a scattered million little pieces that are actually like not necessarily congruent and and spreading my energy, I'm able to take bigger projects and really focus in on things that I love to do. And so I think that I've gained a tremendous amount of knowledge of late of like the intrapreneurial side of being an entrepreneur. and it's and it's crazy because I think we as creative spend so much time developing our skills that we kind of forget that we also need to sell ourselves and I think that within

the sale process and a sustainable sale process comes a lot of freedom as well and I always encourage my creative friends to you know to lean into that as well because it's an absolute part of the profession and it actually relieves a lot of the stress that's associated with creativity and then allows you to truly be creative because creative is like at the very top of the pyramid you know everything else needs to be sorted at the basic need we have security and hunger and shelter and love and everything and then right at the top is like creativity you know and And if we can't feel like we're achieving good business and that we're always struggling for finances,

I think that it's really hard to be truly creative. And so I very much encourage creatives around me to hone their skills, to believe in themselves and to ask for what they're worth. You're speaking right to the heart here for me today because I actually, I often speak about the topic of being an entrepreneur. And to me, it's exactly that. Like, people forget that artists are also entrepreneurs. And artists forget that they are entrepreneurs, you know. And so we have to do that.

But what I also found is the moment you have to start doing that more, you will very quickly find out if the thing that you are doing creatively is actually your passion, because you're going to have to put the work in for it, you know. And so to create that structure and then be, like you say, It's quite interesting to me that creativity is at the top of that Maslow pyramid when we actually such creative souls and that's what we need to be human as well. But yeah, we do. We do need the pyramid.

So I'm really happy that you are doing more of that. And that's amazing that you can coach others. So, yeah, I guess if anyone wants to reach out to you and learn more about that, they can. And I also want to say thank you to the people who make this. creative endeavor possible and that is our partners rsss.com who help us distribute this into the world and they've given our audience a wonderful discount so reach out to us on the socials if you're interested as well as blender bombs also called bomb company and they do these nutritious snacks that you can order and maybe if you're traveling and adventuring in the world like you are

you can take them with you and they're really amazing and they've also given our audience a 20% discount if you use the code the fields and lastly we also have a new partner called bn e sim and if you're a traveler i really recommend that because i've used them everywhere as i go it's really really cheap data and really easy to get us in with them globally so also have a discount let us know if you are interested in any of those we'd love to hear all your feels on the socials and more coming on all of that soon and then i really just have one more last question for you really and that is our reading list. It's called The Stack.

And so maybe you have a book that you'd like to recommend. Maybe it's still like lying on your stack and you want to read it. But, you know, it's a great one. So what is in your stack to share with our audience today? I think I've read two books recently that changed a lot. I'll just mention one. But it was the 5 AM Club. And I think that there's so many books that are quite similar.

I think it's such a cool practice. What I take away from it is to have a... I love the principle of... I don't like every part of the book or necessarily the way it's written, but I think that there's some really interesting key lessons as a part of it. And the ones that really stand out to,

me is the morning diary and I think that that's something that I've been practicing for years but that it kind of like re-anchored it and it's so good I use my diary really to to retrieve some of the latest most beautiful moments from yesterday but also plan the important things that I need to do today so it's kind of like this interval moment that often happens you know between six and seven am where I like I reminisce on the lessons and the events of the previous day and then I plan the next day as well and like tying that in every single day I think gives you so much power to truly notice what's happening in your life instead of just letting these days you know go by and I think like anchoring yourself between the past and the future in that present

moment of die rising is like such a such a powerful moment and Another lesson from the book, if I may, is they call, it's like, it's called the 90-91 rule. And it says that for the first 90 minutes of your working day, for 90 days, you do one thing. And it kind of ties into what I like to do, what I like to set as quarterly goals. And so it's kind of like the things, one. There's a quote that says, you know, one often overestimates what one can do in a day, but underestimates what one can do in a year. And I really, I think that that's so, it resonates quite true to me.

And I think that holding quarterly goals, but then also sticking to them for the first 90 minutes of every day, for 90 days, do only one thing. And the chances are that you'll actually make some incredible, progress over a three-month period, you know, and really know where you're heading with that. So I think these are two good lessons from that book, Diarizing Quarterly Goals, and I think that allows one to live a conscious life and a life that goes towards a thing that you know is important for you. Yeah.

Oh, I love that. Thanks for recommending those, and especially those specific exercises. They're really helpful. I mean, I'm definitely going to be implementing them because I have late been like all over the show and definitely need to focus on one thing. And I think it definitely gives you a sense of purpose, like you say, that you don't feel like your days are just kind of ruminating and running away with you. And I love the journaling. I know I also read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and she speaks about the morning pages. And it's really beautiful to be able to, like you say, bring those two together.

And you mentioned this earlier, and I actually forgot I wanted to say something, that when you kissed your camera, you said thank you. And I feel like being able to look back at the day before and have these moments of thankfulness is really like what creates your joy and your future. And it helps you kind of move forward in that. So these are amazing. Thank you. And we'll definitely be adding them to, well, the book to the stack. and for anyone who's interested, the books that get recommended are on our website. And yeah, just a huge thank you to you for like coming and sharing so much wisdom

and of your journey and you've just walked such a brave journey. I think a lot of people wouldn't have necessarily walked away from one thing and, you know, close that chapter and go on into something that they really love. So thank you for inspiring us today with that. It's been an absolute pleasure chatting. and I'm always available to chat more. Amazing. Well, if you want to be more wild, reach out to Rudy and thank you so much

and happy, happy adventuring in whatever you do next. Thank you, Nicole. If you haven't just yet, follow Friday Fields on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn, you can share with us all your fields this week by tagging us at Friday Fields. and you can also find the website at that handle. And now, as you ease into this weekend, take a moment. Celebrate who you've become, what you've overcome, and what is yet to come as you do, the crazy and cool things that you do as the authentic you.

You know, the truth about life and work is that it's hard, but the beauty is this global working experience that you're in while we are not together. So keep connecting, empowering and inspiring this week. And of course, keep it raw and real. Until next time.